The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 270
Zhang Zhou was not limited to "searching for tricks" and "suppressing tricks".

What he wants to help Zhu Youtang achieve is to fight the Tatars head-on. As for whether this battle takes place in the Hetao area or where, it doesn't really matter.

What Zhang Zhou wanted to fight was not the Fire Screening Department, or Duoyan Sanwei. What he wanted to fight was the headquarters of the Dayan Department, directly hitting Dayan Khan.

Li Dongyang heard Zhang Zhou's intentions, and he stated the disadvantages of doing so in public, saying: "Send troops from Xuanfu, after leaving the fortress, the terrain is dangerous, which is not conducive to long-distance trekking by soldiers and horses, and the tribes in the grassland use Zhangjiakou Fort and other places as gaps to send troops. It is easy to fall into a tight siege in the end. It is not advisable."

In Daming, Xuan Mansion already belonged to the "rear area" relatively speaking in the northwest. Xuan Mansion was an important town for storing military food and materials in the Northwest. It was close to the capital and relatively well-prepared.

Outside of the Xuanfu, the grazing area originally belonged to the Mongolian Goljin Department of Huoshai, and belonged to the right-wing land of Mongolia. Duoyan and other tribes would go to the west to graze, and they would also approach here. This place belongs to the "three no matter" on the grassland ", also belongs to the place where various tribes compete for battle, because there is no value in cultivating and farming here, Ming Dynasty has never used it to plan the strategy of going out of the fortress.

Before Huoshai Headquarters and Dayan Khan were ready to start a war, Mengguoljin’s tribe had moved westward and approached the Hetao area, so now it’s going out of the fortress here, basically it’s a detour behind the Huoshai Division’s buttocks, which means it’s going to follow Dayan’s tribe East and West attack the main part of the fire screen.

According to Li Dongyang, after troops are dispatched from here, the Mengguoljin and Dayan tribes are likely to unite with the rest of the tribes to lay siege to the Ming army in areas where the terrain is not conducive to the performance of the Ming cavalry and infantry.

If you want to bypass the enemy's rear, it is easy to fall into a tight siege.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Sending troops from Yansui is far from enough supplies, the terrain is not good when sending troops from Pianguan, the terrain is narrow inside and wide outside, and the terrain is unstable when sending troops from Xuanfu, making it difficult to make long-distance raids... That means, in the future, we will still stick to it. It is the right way to let the land of Hetao be left alone within the fortress. Is that what you mean?"

Li Dongyang knew that Zhang Zhou was arguing with him, he said: "Whether to send troops or not is already under discussion, there is no need to make a decision immediately."

Zhu Youzhang supported Zhang Zhoudao: "It is my intention to send troops to suppress Taoism, and it is in line with the current situation in the Northwest of Ming Dynasty. Your family said before that the most important thing for the defense of the Northwest is to make the Pianguan stable, and now the Pianguan is no longer hindered. Why delay sending troops?"

Defense is not a problem, let's not talk about sending troops. In the eyes of the emperor, it's not that I have no skills, but that you ministers are afraid of wolves and tigers.

Wang Zongyi, the left servant of the Ministry of War, came out again and questioned: "In the previous battles to suppress Taoism, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops were often dispatched. It can govern the land of Hetao for a long time. If you send troops rashly, I'm afraid it will backfire."

Zhang Zhoudao: "As Wang Shilang intends, because it is difficult to wipe out the bandits, so let the bandits make trouble at the door of the house? Only when they harass the house, do you resist?"

Zhu Youtang didn't want to hear such talk anymore.

He said in a firm tone: "I agree with Xuanfu's proposal to send troops. Let's discuss this and come up with a practical plan within ten days. You don't have to fight any more."

It was decided to send troops, but still obeyed Zhang Zhou's orders, and sent troops from Xuanfu.

The minister was naturally dissatisfied.

But thanks to Zhang Zhou's achievements in previous battles, and the ministers also know that the emperor now has great trust in Zhang Zhou, they can't express their opinions. All they can think of is naturally after the end of the court meeting, a group of censors will join forces to protest The act of sending troops.

"Wang Qiong, a doctor of the household department, made great contributions in the first battle of Pianguan. He was promoted to be the right servant of the household department and the censor of Youqin capital, and the governor of Pianguan and the surrounding areas."

Zhu Youtang immediately rewarded Wang Qiong who had contributed to the decision-making in this battle.

The part-time job of the right servant of the household department can almost be at the same level as Qin Hong, the Xuanda general system, but Wang Qiong is still only the governor of the side pass, and the significance of the side pass in the Ming Dynasty's strategy is more focused on military defense, and does not involve Government treasury grain management and other matters.

……

……

The meeting ended.

It was originally to discuss the merits of Wang Qiong, Zhu Feng and others, but in the middle, it completely deviated from the direction, discussing whether and where to send troops.

The interests of the emperor represented by Zhang Zhou were contrary to the policy of stability in the northwest pursued by the civil officials. As a result, the emperor decided to send troops to the northwest with the majesty of the emperor, but it seemed that this could not get the full support of the civil officials.

Even Zhang Zhou knew that if he sent troops, he would be suppressed by the civil officials if he had credit, and would be magnified if he made mistakes.

Civil officials will use their power to govern the country to set up barriers for those who lead troops to make troubles as much as possible. This is also the biggest drawback of civil servants ruling the country since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, that is, the rigid military system caused by political corruption, and serious combat training of soldiers and horses. Insufficient, and finally reduced to a reserve who can only defend the frontier and not fight tough battles.

After the court meeting ended, Zhang Zhou was called to Qianqing Palace again.

After Zhu Youtang sat down, he didn't look too annoyed. It seems that he had been emperor for 12 years, and he had been a little numb with his ministers arguing too much about the Northwest issue.

"Bingkuan, if I ask you to go to the Xuanfu to lead an attack, do you have confidence?"

Zhu Youtang dare not leave the matter of sending troops to others now.

If he was counting on Wang Yue and Qin Hong before, now he understands that only Zhang Zhou can understand his meaning in terms of strategy, and only Zhang Zhou is completely on the emperor's side. It only guarantees the so-called "overall stability", and does not think about making contributions to the emperor, nor does it think about doing something for the Ming frontier army.

The "golden mean" advocated by civil officials in the stable era will push all the affairs of the era in the direction of "inaction".

Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, I am confident, but it takes time to prepare. May I ask how many soldiers and horses your Majesty can give?"

Now that he talked about sending troops, Zhang Zhou needed to discuss something feasible.

If you only give him [-] troops, Zhang Zhou naturally knows it won't work, but if you give Zhang Zhou [-] troops... it means that troops will be drawn from the surrounding areas of the Xuan Mansion and even the entire Nine Sides, and the civil servants will easily agree. ?At that time, it is inevitable that we will have to shirk again.

Zhu Youtang sighed: "I also know that if you want to let go of your hands and feet to fight, whether it is the dispatch of troops and horses, or the supply of food and grass, it will definitely affect the whole body. It may not be possible to coordinate properly, not to mention...the ministers of the DPRK and China have many objections and will not fully cooperate."

Zhang Zhou nodded.

The emperor's words are tantamount to pointing out the big problem of inaction in the northwest after the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

It's the lack of execution.

Civil servants, military generals, or frontier generals don’t have the courage to execute troops, and they all feel that they can advance or retreat. It’s better to stay in the fortress and be a turtle, and go out to fight. But, why bother?
Once the strategy of going out of the fortress is wrong, it is not necessarily unacceptable how many people will be killed or injured, but the impact on the situation at the border will involve farming, daily life, etc., which will inevitably be affected too much. The final result... everyone will mess together day.

The more mixed, the less executive power.

Form a vicious circle.

The knife is not on the neck, so I don't know the danger.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, if the Xuan Mansion is to send troops, there is no rush at all. You can first mobilize [-] soldiers and horses to the vicinity of the Xuan Mansion for daily drills. As for the matter of sending troops, there is no need to hide it, so that the Tatars can be forced to fight as soon as possible, and the impact on the Ming border can be minimized."

Zhu Youtang thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Bingkuan, what do you mean, that Daming prepares for the war openly, in order to deter the hungry wolves of the prairie, let them kill each other, and wait until they are both defeated, and then send troops to close the border?"

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "That said, it is also the most ideal state. It is difficult to achieve it, but at least it can show my determination to go out of the fortress."

"En." Zhu Youtang just nodded without saying anything.

Dai Yi asked: "Mr. Zhang, how can we not let the Tatars prepare for the war prematurely? How can we catch them by surprise?"

Zhang Zhou said: "This is not an attack on the camp, why should we be caught off guard?"

"But Marquis Weining..."

Dai Yi was about to express his opinion, but he couldn't help but glance at the emperor, and then he lowered his head and kept quiet, no longer expressing any objection.

What he actually wanted to say was that Wang Yue always paid attention to light soldiers and surprise attacks in wars. Wars like Red Salt Pond and Weining Sea were not the kind of slow marches step by step. obtained.

To put it bluntly, Wang Yue likes to use his prestige to use his prestige to carry out the strategy of fighting thousands of miles.

Zhu Youtang understood the difference, and said with a smile: "Bing Kuan governs the army not by ingenuity, but by strength. The so-called steady and steady fight proposed by Mr. Liu Ge and the others is not as good as Bing Kuan's pursuit of stability. The so-called stability , and there is no need to use earthen fortresses to push through step by step, but to rely on the solidity of the army. Bingkuan, if you are really given [-] soldiers and horses, how long will it take to prepare for the battle?"

Zhang Zhoudao: "I still want to stay in the capital, so I might as well find someone else to manage the army."

Zhu Youtang smiled wryly after listening.

You just said that you run the army solidly, but you said let others run the army, which means you don’t want to die yourself?

"Your Majesty, what the Xuan Mansion trains is artillery, and it doesn't have to be practiced inside the fortress, but outside the fortress, it doesn't take hundreds of miles. Take turns to go out of the fortress to practice artillery, and bombard it on the grassland. At that time, who would want to be cannon fodder for those small and medium-sized tribes in the grassland?"

Zhang Zhou told his plan.

The so-called military training is to replace training with warfare, but the so-called warfare is to put on a stance and engage in the practice of bombing rabbits in the grassland.

Let the Tatars know that Ming Dynasty is playing for real, and can blow up the grassland to devastation during military training, and let those tribes who are not familiar with the new artillery of Ming Dynasty know what it is.

Play psychological warfare.

When Daming actually sent troops to fight Dayan Khan or the Huosai Department, those small and medium-sized tribes were frightened by the power of artillery and yellow powder, and did not dare to approach them for assistance.

"That's...very good." Zhu Youtang smiled and nodded at first, then thought of something, and asked, "Gunpowder and shells...will it be... insufficient?"

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "Your Majesty, speaking of it, there is still a lot of hoarding of shells recently. The Ming Dynasty has a vast land and abundant resources. After clarifying the manufacturing process and process of various shells, and the materials are almost inexhaustible, the rest is how to Use these shells and gunpowder to kill Di Yi."

"Okay, then I'll listen to you and dispatch [-] soldiers and horses. From where?" Zhu Youtang asked, "Is it the Beijing camp?"

Zhang Zhoudao: "Returning to Your Majesty, I invite people from all over the place to send three to five hundred soldiers to Xuanfu to perform military exercises together, and use the military exercises as a bright eye to conduct training instead of combat, and train artillery and military personnel from all over the important towns on the nine borders. Gunners, etc., let them familiarize themselves with the cost of artillery. Previously, His Majesty ordered cannons to be cast all over the northwest, so you also need someone who understands artillery to complete the daily defense and garrison?"

"Oh?" The more Zhu Youtang listened, the more excited he became.

Dai Yi reminded with excitement: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang's move is really serving multiple purposes. While training soldiers to frighten the grassland tribes, he also trained gunners. Shouldn't we train more batches of artillery?"

"Yes." Zhu Youtang also nodded in approval.

Zhang Zhoudao: "I don't necessarily need to go to the military training in person, but the preparations for the war on the Nine Sides also need to be upgraded. Even if the Tatars know that the Ming Dynasty sent troops from the Xuanfu, they must feel that I, the Ming Dynasty It is possible to dispatch troops from all the towns on the nine sides at the same time, only in this way can the grasslands be filled with soldiers, and they will be terrified without fighting!"

"it is good!"

Hearing this, Zhu Youtang lost the slightest worry in his heart.

"Training with war, Bing Kuan, what you said is really in line with what I think in my heart. The so-called where to send troops is just a cover. Daming is exactly what he wants to do. There are garrisons everywhere, and anywhere can be done." To send troops, the towns on the nine sides are both passes and bridgeheads, and they can enter the grassland at any time... Only in this way can the Di Yi in the north know where the king's way is and where the power of heaven is!"

Zhu Youtang was in an uplifted mood, completely driven by Zhang Zhou's emotions.

In the past, if someone told him this, he would slap him back first, and still frighten the grassland. Does our Daming have that strength?
But now with Zhang Zhou... Zhu Youtang's military and political ambitions also began to swell with the foundation of the previous victories.

this moment.

It also made Zhang Zhou realize.

The emperor who didn't understand the golden mean the most in Ming Dynasty was the emperor, followed by the crown prince. Zhu Youtang and his son would not be willing to follow the old ways to obtain the so-called stability in the Northwest.

Probably all those who become emperors have the ideal of becoming a wise emperor through the ages.

……

……

After Zhang Zhou talked about military affairs with the emperor, he immediately had to take care of "private affairs".

It's better to diagnose Empress Zhang's condition and become a doctor. Even Zhang Zhou feels that the status contrast is a bit big.

He is not only the emperor's trusted staff advisor, but also his personal doctor...but the emperor didn't go with Zhang Zhou to consult Queen Zhang. Went out to watch a play.

The play that was rehearsed that day was "Dingjun Mountain".

Veteran Huang Zhong is old and strong, and he sent troops to Cao Cao to capture Dingjun Mountain...just in line with the emperor's state of mind, let him continue to be excited...

Zhang Zhou asked the doctor, and this time he took the pulse directly, and thought about it after he finished, as if he was thinking about a new prescription for Queen Zhang.

"Bingkuan, I heard that His Majesty often goes out to watch operas in the palace recently, and every time he comes back, he tells the content of the operas with me. Does it mean that the government and the public are free, so His Majesty is so free?" Empress Zhang now also regards Zhang Zhou as a "My own person", while asking for a doctor, actually talked to Zhang Zhou about the "private affairs" between their husband and wife.

Empress Zhang really has no one to ask about matters outside the palace.

Moreover, Empress Zhang also has a sense of crisis... She vaguely knew that the emperor intended to obey the Queen Mother Zhou when he left the palace, and the Queen Mother Zhou had always wanted to accept concubines for the emperor.

In the palace, it was Queen Zhang's territory, but outside the palace gate, Queen Zhang didn't even know what the emperor was doing outside, so how could she control the emperor's behavior?

Zhang Zhoudao: "Except for the first time I accompanied His Majesty to the theater, I haven't been there since. Your Majesty may have been paying attention to drama recently. Empress, should I invite these theater troupes to the palace? By then... ... Let the queen see it too?"

"It's not impossible." Queen Zhang withdrew her wrist and said with emotion, "I mentioned it to Your Majesty before, but His Majesty meant that the troupe should always be top-notch and there is no need to disturb the palace. I think Your Majesty has not been so close to me recently, Bingkuan, is there a way for me to get pregnant earlier?"

Zhang Zhou picked up his pen and was about to write a prescription.

After hearing the words, he shook his head.

It means that there is nothing you can do for now.

A female officer next to her said: "You can't let your mother get pregnant, so why come to see a doctor?"

"Hehe." Zhang Zhou smiled.

Empress Zhang said: "Don't be rude to Zhang Qing's family, he is a genius doctor, if he can't treat him well, let alone do it to others! Admit to Zhang Qing's family."

"Yes, ma'am. Mr. Zhang, it's a servant who is rude." The female officer hastily admitted her mistake.

"It's okay." Zhang Zhou didn't seem to mind.

But Zhang Zhou is a discerning man.

The queen won't let this female official act presumptuously, how dare this female official come to act presumptuously?To put it bluntly, Queen Zhang wanted to play some "conspiracy tricks" in front of him, to engage in some coercion and lure.

While showing trust in him, at the same time, he let the female officer around him sternly teach him a lesson. In fact, Zhang Zhou could clearly see that the female officer's hands were shaking, which showed that the female officer's heart was very empty...

No way, Zhang Zhou's reputation in the palace is too "evil". Anyone who dares to follow will be able to recruit Tianlei to face the half-immortal?
"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Shouning is here."

Zhang Zhou was still writing the prescription, and a little eunuch came in at the door to pass it on.

"Let him come in." Empress Zhang obviously arranged for her younger brother to come to see her.

Afterwards, Zhang Heling walked in with a step that no one of his relatives would recognize, and cupped his hands from afar, saying, "I've seen my sister, I've seen Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Zhou said with a smile, "Shouning Marquis, you're being polite."

After all, Zhang Heling has been Zhang Zhou's "student" recently, and he is familiar with learning how to shoot.

"He Ling, is there something urgent?" Queen Zhang asked.

Zhang Heling said with a smile: "I heard that my brother-in-law wants to send troops to go out recently, and also send Mr. Zhang... I'll ask to see if there is a chance, and I will help you."

"Bingkuan, do you think... is it suitable?" Empress Zhang asked hypocritically.

Obviously, now that Zhu Youtang has started to treat Empress Zhang in the cold, the Zhang family has a sense of crisis, and has also begun to intentionally train the Zhang family brothers to be the "pillars" of the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)